Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-05-07
CHAPTER ".
THE sQUALL.

How different is the scene that have now
to tell from that which has just been toldl
Gone are the quiet college rooms, gone the
wind swayed English elms and cawing
rocks and the familiar volumes on tho
Shelves and in their place there rises vision
OF the great calm ocean cleaning in shaded
silver lights beneath the beams of the full
African moon. A gentle breeze fills the huge
sail Of our dhow and drags us through tho
water that ripplcs musically against our
sides. Most of the men are sleeping forward,
for it is near Midnight, but a stout, swarthy
Arab, Mahomed by name, stands at the
tilfer, lazily steering by the stars. Three
miles or more to our starboard Is low, din
line. 1t is the eastern shore of Central AT
RIGA. We are running to the southwark, be-
fore the northeast monsoon, between the
mainland and the reef that for hundreds of
miles fringes that perilous coast. The night
is quiet, SO quiet that whisper can be hearf
fore and aft tho dhow; so quiet that faint
booming sound rolls across the water to us
from the distant land.
The Arab at the tiller holds up his haAd
and says ono word: SSimbaln Qion)
We all sit up and listen Then it comes.
again, o slow majestic sound that thrills us
to the marrow.
Tomorrow, by 10 O'CLOCK" l say, eve
ought, if the captain is not out in his recko&-
ing, which ] think very probable, to make
this mysterious rock with mans head and
begin our shooting"
"And begin our search for the ruined city
and the Fire Of Life, corrected Leo taking
bis pipe from his mouth and laughing a
little
"Nonsensen answered. "You were airing
your Arabic with that man at the tiller this
afternoon. What did he tell youl He has
been trading slave trading, probably up anjk
| down these ATTITUDES for half of his iniquitous
| life, and once landed on this very man rock.
Did he ever hear anything of the ruined city
| or the cavesp
"No," answered Leo "He says that the
country Is all swamp behind, and full Of
snakes, especially pythons, and game ard
that no man lives there. But then there is
belt of swamp all along the east African
coast, SO that does not go for much"
| eyes," said, ut does-it goes for malaria.
You see what sort of an opinion these gentry
have Of the country, Not one Of them viii
| go with us. They think that we are mad,
and upon my word believe that they are
right If ever we see old England again /
shall be astonished. However, it does not
| greatly matter to mo, at my age, but esin
anxious for you, Leo and Job. It's Tom
FOOLS business, my boy"
| "All right" Uncle Horace SO far as am
concerned, am willing to take my chance.
Lookl What is that cloudp and he pointed
10 dark blotch upon the starry sky, some
miles astern OF u.s."
s'Go and ask the man at the tiller,n l said.
He rose and stretched his long arms, and
went. Presently he returned.
"He says 1t Is a squall, but 1t win pass far
ON one side Of u.s."
Just then Job came up, looking very stout
and English in his shooting suit of brown
flannel, and with sort Of perplexed appear
ance upon his honest round face that had been
very common with him since he got into
these strange waters.
"Please, sir, )" he said, touching his sun hat,
which was stuck on the hack OF his head in a
somewhat ludicrous fashion, las we have got
all those guns and things In the whaleboat
astern, to say nothing of the provisions In the
lockers, think It would be best II got dom
and slept in her. / don't like the looksn-
here he dropped his voice TO q portentous
whisper-''of these black gentry; they have
such o wonderful thievish way about them
Surprising. now, that some Of them were to
slip into the boat at night and cut the cable,
and make off with herl Il would be pretty
go, that would.n
The whaleboat, I may explain, was one
that we had had built at Dundee, In the
north Of England, and brought with us, as
we knew that this coast was a network OF
creeks, and that we might require something
TO navigate them with. She was a beautiful
boat, thirty feet in length, with a centerboard
for sailing, copper-bottomed to keep tho worm
out Of her, and full of water tight compart-
ments. The captain Of the dhow had told vi
that when we reached the rock, which he
knew well, and which appeared TO be identi-
cal with the one described upon the sherd and
by Leo's father, be would not probably be
able TO run up to on account Of the shalifys
and breakers, so we had employed three
hours that very morning, while we were
totally becalmed, the wind having dropped
at sunrise, In transferring most Of cur goods
and chattels 10 the whaleboat, placing tho
guns, ammunition and preserved provisions
In the water tight lockers specially PREPARED
for them, 30 that when we did sight The
TABLED rock we should have nothing to do but
step into the beat and run her ashore. An